Russia fired dozens of drones at Ukraine in nighttime attacks, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, disregarding a unilateral ceasefire announced by Kyiv that began at midnight.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine hadn't abided by its own ceasefire, saying that air defenses shot down 53 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the illegally annexed Crimean peninsula and the Black Sea between Tuesday evening and dawn Wednesday.

China's foreign minister called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the Iran war and said his country was "deeply distressed" by the conflict that has lasted two months.

Wang Yi made the comments Wednesday after meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was visiting Beijing for the first time since the war with the U.S. and Israel started Feb. 28.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on Tuesday that they would respond firmly to any ships that diverge from the Islamic republic's approved route through the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump is renewing his criticism of Pope Leo XIV even as Rubio prepares to visit Vatican City, ostensibly to ease tensions between Washington and the Holy See.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will travel to Beijing on Tuesday for talks, the foreign ministry said, amid stalled negotiations with the United States to end the Middle East war.

"During the visit, he will meet his Chinese counterpart (Wang Yi) to discuss bilateral ties and regional and international developments," the ministry said in a brief statement.

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran Tuesday to "do the smart thing" and make a deal, saying even as a Middle East ceasefire teetered that he did not want to kill more Iranians.

The United States is "not looking for a fight" over the Strait of Hormuz and its ceasefire with Iran still holds, but any attack on commercial shipping will be met with a "devastating" response, the Pentagon chief said Tuesday.

The warning from Pete Hegseth came on the second day of a U.S. effort to facilitate the transit of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had closed in response to the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.

World leaders on Tuesday piled pressure on Tehran to stick to diplomacy to bring an end to the Middle East war, after a salvo of attacks in the region left a ceasefire crumbling.

Iran's powerful chief negotiator warned the United States against any further escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, after a spate of attacks risked reigniting the Middle East war.

U.S. President Donald Trump warned Iranian forces on Monday that they would be “blown off the face of the Earth” if they attempted to target U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz or Persian Gulf.